Tag Archives: gambling

William Mendola, also known as DJ Billy Mendola, was arrested for allegedly running an illegal poker game inside a Flatiron building earlier this month.

Mendola, 51, was charged with running an unlicensed bottle club at 147 West 25th Street on Saturday, May 11 at 2:45 a.m. Police said that Mendola was working as the manager inside the location, where alcohol was being warehoused and allegedly sold illegally. Police said that the space did not have a valid liquor license and Mendola allegedly possessed gambling devices, including poker tables, playing cards and poker chips, which were reportedly used for unlawful gambling activity.

Mendola was indicted in 2003 on federal drug charges in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was charged with conspiracy to violate narcotics law. He pleaded guilty to drug charges in 2005 and was sentenced to almost 12 years in prison, and was ordered to be designated to a facility as close as possible to Las Vegas.

It is not clear how much of his prison sentence he served, but in 2013, Mendola wrote a letter to a judge to request early termination of the three-year supervised release that a judge mandated upon his release from prison. The court denied the request because he reportedly had not shown “exceptionally good behavior,” had not completed two-thirds of the period of supervision and his offense was large in scale.

The NYPD’s Vice Enforcement Division busted a small gambling operation above the Journelle lingerie store at 3 East 17th Street on August 25 at 10 p.m. After getting a New York County search warrant, police arrested Rafael Lugo, 42, Sergio Valentin, 46, and Jin Feng, 35, for promoting gambling.
Police said that there were at least 15 people sitting at three different poker tables on the second floor of the building, all playing games of Texas Hold ‘Em with poker chips on the tables.

Valentin allegedly told police that he had been running the location for about three months under the business name “Admire Ads” and told them that the rate he charges of $10 per hand is one of the lowest in the city. Police also recovered $2,040 in cash from Valentin’s pocket.

Feng was sitting at one of the tables with at least eight other people and allegedly told police that he was the dealer. According to the criminal complaint from the District Attorney’s office, Feng had been working at the location for about three months, collecting $10 per hand for the house and placing the money he collected in a tray.

‘PURSE SNATCHER’ NABBED IN STUY TOWN
Police arrested 44-year-old Mark Gallop for grand larceny at the 13th Precinct last Monday at 10:45 a.m. Gallop was allegedly on surveillance video of 1 Stuyvesant Oval and was seen in the lobby of the building taking a woman’s purse.

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT OF OFFICER
Police arrested 27-year-old Rushelle Exeter for assault of a peace officer last Thursday at 3:07 a.m. While in front of the Bellevue Hospital building at 462 First Avenue, Exeter allegedly bit a police officer on the left forearm, breaking the skin and causing pain. Exeter then spit in the face of another officer, causing irritation and pain, police said.

MEN BUSTED FOR ‘GAMBLING’ ON E. 22ND
Police arrested three men for promoting gambling inside 12 East 22nd Street last Friday at 6:15 p.m. Thirty-eight-year-old Shawn Chaconas, 30-year-old Jason Lee and 26-year-year-old Andrew Chaconas were arrested for promoting an illegal poker game at the location.

TWO CAMERA ‘PERVS’ BUSTED IN UNION SQUARE
Police arrested two men for sexual abuse in the Union Square subway station in unrelated incidents.
Forty-two-year-old Adrian Macareno was arrested last Wednesday at 11:08 a.m. Macareno was allegedly using his cell phone in video mode to record under a girl’s shorts. The girl told police that she didn’t know Macareno and didn’t give him permission to film her.
Fifty-four-year-old Karl Coelho was arrested last Wednesday at 3:47 p.m. Coelho was allegedly walking behind a woman with his cell phone lens facing up and in video mode, filming her private parts while she was walking up the stairs to the street. Coelho failed to appear for his court date on a previous summons and also is on the sexual monitoring list.

‘PERV’ NABBED ON ‘L’ PLATFORM
Police arrested 36-year-old Manuel Zambrano for public lewdness at the Union Square subway station last Saturday at 2:15 p.m. Zambrano was allegedly masturbating with both of his hands inside his jogging pants pocket while on the L platform. He was standing by the staircase on the platform and looking up women’s skirts, police said.

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR PURSE ‘THEFT’ IN HOSPITAL BATHROOM
Police arrested 46-year-old Mildred Peralta for possession of stolen property last Monday at 12:27 a.m. inside the Hospital for Joint Diseases at 301 East 17th Street. Peralta allegedly told police that she stole someone’s property from a bathroom stall but was going to return it. When the phone was retrieved, it was powered off and the MetroCard that was with it had been removed. Peralta had removed the phone and MetroCard from the victim’s pocketbook, police said.

WOMEN ‘ASSAULT’ CABBIE ON AVE. C
Police arrested 21-year-old Rashyra Autry and 22-year-old Dawnice Cheatham for assault at the corner of Avenue C and East 23rd Street last Sunday at 5:22 a.m. A taxi driver told police that he got into an argument with the two women over a cab ride to New Rochelle and Autry allegedly punched the driver in the face. She also kicked the cab, causing a previous repair of the car’s quarter panel to crack off.

‘TRESPASSING’ NEAR FDR DRIVE
Police arrested 61-year-old Michael Diaz for criminal trespassing in a fenced in area at the FDR and Avenue C last Tuesday at 8:07 a.m. Diaz was allegedly at the location without permission.

MAN BUSTED FOR GIFT CARD ‘THEFT’
Police arrested 46-year-old Anthony Donelson in front of 25 West 14th Street for grand larceny last Wednesday. The address is home to a few retailers, including Guitar Center. Donelson allegedly confessed to a loss prevention officer at the business that over the course of several months, he was making fraudulent gift cards in the amount of $5,039, which were given to unknown people and used at the above location.

‘MENACE’ ARRESTED AT HAO WEI
Police arrested 29-year-old Xian Lin for menacing at the 13th Precinct last Sunday at 4:45 p.m. Lin allegedly entered the Hao Wei restaurant at 493 Second Avenue and punched the victim several times in the face. He also pulled out a knife and threatened the victim, police said.

TWO BUSTED IN DRUG ‘DEAL’ ON EAST 24TH
Police arrested 52-year-old Charles McAtee for possession of a controlled substance in front of 168 East 24th Street last Friday at 9:25 a.m. McAtee allegedly bought eight Xanax tablets from 49-year-old Jose Rivera, who was also arrested for sale of a controlled substance.

MAN BUSTED FOR FAKE PLASTIC
Police arrested 28-year-old George Pauls for forgery inside the Gap at 122 Fifth Avenue last Monday at 2:48 p.m. Pauls allegedly tried to use a forged credit card at the store and was told by the cashier that the card wasn’t valid. Pauls then fled the location, running north on Fifth Avenue, police said. A loss prevention officer followed him and called the police. Pauls was then arrested in front of the store and when he was brought to the precinct, he confessed to using a fraudulent credit card, police said.

UNLICENSED ROCK SALESMAN BUSTED
Police arrested 31-year-old Anwar Knight for violating New York State law in front of 1 Union Square East last Sunday at 2 p.m. Knight was displaying rocks for sale to the public on a folding table without a Department of Consumer Affairs license.

FOOD VENDOR REFUSES TO LEAVE
Police arrested 28-year-old Ahmad Shaker for disorderly conduct at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 23rd Street last Tuesday at 3:17 p.m. Shaker allegedly refused to move his food cart from the corner, which he was asked to do because it presented a hazard at that location. Police said that Shaker was asked to move the cart numerous times and he refused, then engaged in violent and threatening behavior, saying, “F— that, I’m not moving, I don’t care what you gotta say.”

TEENS BUSTED FOR ‘FAKE’ $100’S
Police arrested two teens for forgery in front of 863 Broadway last Tuesday at 6:06 p.m. Eighteen-year-olds Joshua Faust-Gadsden and Quentya Hawkins allegedly tried to purchase items by passing a counterfeit $100 bill to the cashier. The cashier called the police and the teens were stopped nearby. When police searched them, they were allegedly in possession of fake $100 bills.

MAN ARRESTED FOR SELLING SMOKES
Police arrested 53-year-old Richard Zanetti for violating tax law in front of 490 Second Avenue last Tuesday at 10:10 a.m. Zanetti was allegedly on the sidewalk at the location selling a cigarette carton to another unapprehended person. The tax stamp on the carton was from Virginia, police said.

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Town & Village is a print newspaper that has been serving the community since 1947, covering neighborhoods in the East Side of Manhattan, including Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, Waterside Plaza, Gramercy Park, Union Square, East Midtown Plaza and Kips Bay.

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About us

Town & Village is a print newspaper that has been serving the community since 1947, covering neighborhoods in the East Side of Manhattan, including Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, Waterside Plaza, Gramercy Park, Union Square, East Midtown Plaza and Kips Bay.